Buy an Electric Wheelchair – Things to be Considered

Buy an Electric Wheelchair - Things to be Considered

An electric wheelchair has the power to dramatically improve your independence and quality of life when chosen according to your living environment and your physical needs. A power chair adds the kind of oomph and maneuverability that ﻿﻿manual ﻿﻿chairsonly dream of offering. The choice of brand needs to be twofold, considering therapeutic and engineering needs. So, if you want to buy an electric wheelchair you need to know some important factors first. Let's scrolling.

Buy an Electric Wheelchair #BuyanElectricWheelchair

Click to Tweet

What the Experts Say

Those most often confronted for advice are in the occupational therapy and physiotherapy industries. These professionals have an important but limited range of knowledge: their advice pertains to physical needs, posture, seating options and comfort. This advice is valuable but, ultimately, unhelpful when engineering considerations are ignored. Handling, weight, motor efficiency and maneuverability will affect your daily movements as influentially as comfort will.

Questions ﻿to Ask

1

Heavy or Portable?

The speed and range of a power ﻿﻿wheelchair is affected by the weight it can handle. Regardless of how impressive the statistics about maneuverability and speed are, if the electric wheelchair isn’t suitable to your weight, those figures can be chopped in half. Small motors and light batteries will compromise the chair’s ability to carry you at reasonable speeds throughout the day. Usually, folding chairs substitute power and longevity with portability. Transportable options are useful for holidays but may disappoint you during everyday use.

2

Indoors or Outdoors?

Large batteries add range and increased speed to a wheelchair, which makes outdoor ﻿﻿use more practical. Heavier people need more muscular torque which will be affected by speedy gearing. For people who live in environments that are mountainous , front and mid wheel drives offer more maneuverability. Front wheel drives are excellent for the tight corners faced indoors. If you will be traveling over rough terrain, small front wheels with thin tires are inadequate. Higher speeds naturally affect the level of battery needed, since it takes less time to reach your destination. Small wheels diminish shock absorption, which can lead to discomfort. Larger tires and 70 amp batteries let you confront the toughest terrains with ease.

3

How mobile are you?

Active people who like to move throughout the day are unlikely to be satisfied with substandard battery power. An electric wheelchair with all day range needs batteries larger than 75ah. This necessarily adds weight, which affects speed and torque. Energetic people need big batteries and small dimensions in a full sized chair

4

How small is your home?

If your home has tiny rooms and tight corners, you need a chair that is shorter than 40 inches. Mid-wheel drives claim to be more maneuverable but they are often too long to navigate tight spots. Even the smallest parts that extend outside the general area of the chair reduce cornering capacity. Narrow doorways need reduced width. Measure the tightest areas in your home as well as the widest points in the diagonal length between corners.

5

How stable is your posture?

If you struggle to keep yourself upright, a mid wheel drive might be too unsteady on ramps. The stiffness of the chair needs to be balanced to avoid wobbling on acceleration without compromising maneuverability. A seat belt is also helpful in maintaining posture over rough terrain.

Approaching the Purchase

Begin by making a list of the daily tasks and hobbies that give you high quality of life. Speak to your occupational therapist about your medical needs but also ask the advice of wheelchair users with a similar lifestyle to your own. Look throughindependent ﻿﻿wheelchair review sites. When consulting all three sources you will find the best ﻿﻿wheelchair for your needs. Greater independence is only a stone’s throw away.

WHEELCHAIRS – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GETTING ONE

When you are contemplating whether or not to buy a wheelchair, be it a manual one or an electric, the following article will push you in the right direction. In that regard, you should pay attention to some of the details that will save you a bundle when you go and shop for one.

Crutches are sometimes very cumbersome to move around in. You will not be able to pass to the other side of obstacles holding crutches in your hands. Hence, wheelchairs are the novel way that has revolutionized the way physically challenged people move around. However, how does one go about selecting one, what are the advantages that come with using an electronic one and a manual one?

The following section will cover all you need to know about wheelchairs.

The ﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿power wheelchair versus the manual one

In recent times, there has been an increase in number of people using power wheelchairs. You should note that not everyone is fortunate to have the strength to move a wheelchair around. For instance, a person who is living with cerebral palsy will not enjoy the benefits of moving around in a manual one. They have to have a person to move them around.

Hence, power wheelchairs when compared against manual ones, they come with a lot of benefits like not having to wear gloves all the time to avoid getting calluses when they navigate the wheel chair and so on.

A manual wheelchair does not require to be charged most of the time. This means that you can freely move around in it. You should note that these contraptions are sometimes very hard to operate if you do not know what you are doing. Hence, you have to employ a lot of dexterity when you are using a manual one. Most of the pros and cons that come with using power wheel chairs will be discussed at length in the subsequent section.

What are the advantages and disadvantages that come with using power wheelchairs?

There are a lot of benefits that come with using manual wheel chairs. For instance, if you are using public transportation, the wheelchairs can be easily folded to fit into any given space. This means that if you look at power wheelchairs, which is very huge, it becomes a bit harder to do.

In regard to pros of using power wheelchairs, the first advantage that comes from using it is that you are able to move around faster compared to manual wheel chair. In a manual one, you have to use your hands to propel you forward or have someone push you in order for you to move. On the other hand, a power one allows you to move around faster. The second advantage is that power wheel chairs are very comfortable when compared to manual ones. Thirdly, the power wheel chair is more or less allows you to move around without help.

When it comes to the cons, power wheelchairs are very expensive and not everyone can afford them. In addition, when they get a mechanical problem, this makes them more or less a very heavy version of the manual one; but harder to man-oeuvre.

How does one know what is the best wheelchair for them?

When going about shopping for wheelchairs, there are a few things you should always look at before making the final decision. For instance, you should look at your finances for starters; will you be able to afford either a manual wheelchair or power one?

Secondly you have to look at which is more convenient for you to use; is it the power wheelchair or the manual one? It basically boils down to your discretion, and how you see it fit into your circumstances.

Thank you for stopping by in my Buy an Electric Wheelchair - Things to be Considered post. If you have any other suggestions please comment here .

Dennis P. Baughman

Dennis P. Baughman is the Editor of UnbeatenRolling. His disabilities couldn't stop him to be self driven person. He started this blog to share his personal knowledge about all kinds of wheelchairs and different tips and advice about chairs.

Click Here to Leave a Comment Below 0 comments

Leave a Reply:

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.